The Swiss Competition Commission (Comco) said on Friday that it had approved British buyout firm Apax's purchase of Orange Switzerland from France Telecom.
This content was published on
1 minute
swissinfo.ch and agencies
It was announced in December 2011 that the number three in the Swiss telecoms market would be sold to Apax for SFr2 billion ($2.2 billion). However, the move was subject to the go-ahead from the Swiss authorities.
In a statement, Comco said that it had no objections to the deal. “The preliminary check has not found any evidence that the planned purchase would create or reinforce a market dominant position,” it said.
The French telecom firm’s original plan, to merge Orange Switzerland with Sunrise to better compete with market leader Swisscom, was blocked by the competition body in 2010.
Founded in 1999, Orange Switzerland had 1.6 million customers as of the end of September 2011. It employs around 1,200 people. Its turnover was SFr1.3 billion in 2010.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Orange Switzerland bought by British
This content was published on
The sale, agreed on Friday night, is worth SFr2 billion ($2.14 billion). It still needs approval by the Swiss authorities. Orange Switzerland had a turnover of SFr1.3 billion in 2010. France Télécom said the sale was an important step in its optimisation strategy. It had already announced in July that it planned to sell its…
This content was published on
The decision was described as a “sensational victory” for consumers by the secretary general of the consumer federation in western Switzerland, Mathieu Fleury. The Competition Commission argued that the company resulting from the deal would have had a dominant position in the mobile telephone market alongside rival Swisscom. In a statement, the commission said a…
This content was published on
The group’s revenues dropped 1.6 per cent to SFr12 billion ($11.1 billion) in 2009 but profits rose nearly ten per cent to SFr1.9 billion thanks to a decrease in one-off charges from the previous year. The former state monopoly, which is still majority owned by the government, is facing increasing competition across the cable television,…
This content was published on
Smart phones and other portable communication devices offer many chances – and many challenges. They can become addictive and even counterproductive not only for private users, but also for companies. (TSR/swissinfo.ch)
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.